An improved swim fin comprises a foot-packet formation formed with a foot-receiving cavity, and a fin blade attached and extending longitudinally beyond the foot-packet formation to a trailing edge thereof for a substantial length. The fin blade has an imaginary center line splitting down the middle thereof to separate the same into two symmetric portions. The fin blade further comprises: at least a first movable member and at least a second movable member. Both of the movable members are triangular shaped. The first movable member is disposed on one of the two portions of the fin blade and is connected to the fin blade by a first connecting edge such that the first movable member can wiggle using the first connecting edge as pivot within a predefined angle. The second movable member is disposed on another portion of the fin blade and is connected to the fin blade by a second connecting edge such that the second movable member can wiggle using the second connecting edge as pivot within an predefined angle.
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8. An improved swim fin, comprising:
a foot-packet formation formed with a foot-receiving cavity; and
a fin blade attached and extending longitudinally beyond the foot-packet formation to a trailing edge thereof for a first length, said fin blade having an imaginary center line splitting down the middle of the fin blade and extending longitudinally so as to substantially separate the fin blade into two portions, said fin blade further comprising:
at least a first movable member disposed on one of the two portions of the fin blade, the first movable member is triangular shaped and is defined by a first longitudinal edge, a first leading edge and a first connecting edge, the first longitudinal edge being located in a vicinity of the center line and being substantially extending parallel to the center line, the first leading edge being located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge by a first distance, the first longitudinal edge and the first leading edge both being through slots and being connected to each other at one end thereof, the first connecting edge being an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the first longitudinal edge and the other end connected to the first leading edge so as to form the triangular shaped first movable member; and
at least a second movable member disposed on another portion of the fin blade, the second movable member is triangular shaped and is defined by a second longitudinal edge, a second leading edge and a second connecting edge, the second longitudinal edge being located in a vicinity of the center line and being substantially extending parallel to the center line, the second leading edge being located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge by a second distance, the second longitudinal edge and the second leading edge both being through slots and being connected to each other at one end thereof, the second connecting edge being an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the second longitudinal edge and the other end connected to the second leading edge so as to form the triangular shaped second movable member;
wherein, the first distance is different from the second distance.
7. An improved swim fin, comprising:
a foot-packet formation formed with a foot-receiving cavity; and
a fin blade attached and extending longitudinally beyond the foot-packet formation to a trailing edge thereof for a first length, said fin blade having an imaginary center line splitting down the middle of the fin blade and extending longitudinally so as to substantially separate the fin blade into two portions, said fin blade further comprising:
at least a first movable member disposed on one fo the two portions of the fin blade, the first movable member is triangular shaped and is defined by a first longitudinal edge, a first leading edge and a first connecting edge, the first longitudinal edge being located in a vicinity of the center line, the first leading edge being located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge, the first longitudinal edge and the first leading edge both being through slots and being connected to each other at one end thereof, the first connecting edge being an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the first longitudinal edge and the other end connected to the first leading edge so as to form the triangular shaped first movable member;
at least a second movable member disposed on another portion of the fin blade, the second movable member is triangular shaped and is defined by a second longitudinal edge, a second leading edge and a second connecting edge, the second longitudinal edge being located in a vicinity of the center line, the second leading edge being located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge, the second longitudinal edge and the second leading edge both being through slots and being connected to each other at one end thereof, the second connecting edge being an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the second longitudinal edge and the other end connected to the second leading edge so as to form the triangular shaped second movable member;
at least one groove located on an upper surface of the fin blade and extending between one of the leading edges and the trailing edge for guiding water flows; and
two longitudinal outer edges extending between the foot-packet formation and the trailing edge, each outer edge having a thickness greater than that of the fin blade for providing structural strength, each outer edge being formed with a rudder at one end adjoining the trailing edge for guiding water flows.
1. An improved swim fin, comprising:
a foot-packet formation formed with a foot-receiving cavity; and
a fin blade attached and extending longitudinally beyond the foot-packet formation to a trailing edge thereof for a first length, said fin blade having an imaginary center line splitting down the middle of the fin blade and extending longitudinally so as to substantially separate the fin blade into two portions, said fin blade further comprising:
at least a first movable member disposed on one of the two portions of the fin blade, the first movable member is triangular shaped and is defined by a first longitudinal edge, a first leading edge and a first connecting edge, the first longitudinal edge being located in a vicinity of the center line and being substantially extending parallel to the center line, the first leading edge being located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge by a first distance, the first longitudinal edge and the first leading edge both being through slots and being connected to each other at one end thereof, the first connecting edge being an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the first longitudinal edge and the other end connected to the first leading edge so as to form the triangular shaped first movable member; and
at least a second movable member disposed on another portion of the fin blade, the second movable member is triangular shaped and is defined by a second longitudinal edge, a second leading edge and a second connecting edge, the second longitudinal edge being located in a vicinity of the center line and being substantially extending parallel to the center line, the second leading edge being located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge by a second distance, the second longitudinal edge and the second leading edge both being through slots and being connected to each other at one end thereof, the second connecting edge being an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the second longitudinal edge and the other end connected to the second leading edge so as to form the triangular shaped second movable member;
wherein, the fin blade further comprises two openings and two side ribs, each of the two openings is formed on an outer edge of the fin blade for inserting one side rib in a removable manner; and,
wherein, when the side ribs are inserted in the openings, structural strength of the fin blade is increased; when the side ribs are removed from the openings, the fin blade is still functional for swim fin operation but in a more flexible manner.
3. The swim fin of
4. The swim fin of
5. The swim fin of
6. The swim fin of
9. The swim fin of
wherein, when the side ribs are inserted in the openings, structural strength of the fin blade is increased; when the side ribs are removed from the openings, the fin blade is still functional for swim fin operation but in a more flexible manner.
10. The swim fin of
11. The swim fin of
12. The swim fin of
13. The swim fin of
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The application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 10/902,043 filed on Jul. 30, 2004 now abandoned.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a swim fin, and more particularly, to a swim fin having at least a pair of movable members disposed on the fin blade thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Swim fins substantially increase the surface area of a swimmer's foot thereby to increase force exerted by the foot on the water when swimming. Such fins generally include a foot-packet formation defining a foot-receiving cavity and a fin blade extending longitudinally beyond a user's foot for a substantial length. However, conventional swim fins currently available on the market all posses some kinds of imperfection in their fin blade design that require to be improved.
The swim fin as disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. 348543 includes a foot-packet formation and a fin blade, wherein the fin blade is integrally formed and is connected to the foot-packet formation by an inclination angle. In addition, both the upper and lower surfaces of the fin blade have a plurality of ribs disposed thereon for directing water flow with respect to the blade surface. As illustrated in R.O.C. Pat. 348543, the swim fin uses repulsive force exerted on the fin blade by water flow to create propulsion while the water flow also exerts drags to the same due to the formation of turbulence around the fin blade. Therefore, conventional swim fins generally can not have satisfactory propulsion efficiency.
Moreover, the swim fin as disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. 427172 includes a foot-packet formation and a fin blade, wherein the fin blade have two outward-inclined side rails and a inward-curled trailing edge. The two side rails and the trailing edge along with the bottom of the blade forms a spoon-like structure that can bags water therein to enable the two side rails to expand outwardly for increasing the amount of water pressured by the same and the operating surface thereof during a kicking stroke. In addition, the counter action of the kicking stroke will enable the two side rails to shrink inwardly for reducing resistance. However, the swim fin of R.O.C. Pat. 427172 still can not solve the problem of the drag exerting on the blade by water flow.
In addition, the swim fins as disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. 422117, U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,631 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,868 are unconventional paddle-like swim fins. These swim fins each comprises a foot-packet formation and a fin blade, wherein the fin blade further comprises a plurality of recesses incorporated thereon for directing water flow and two stiffening members arranged respectively at two sides of the fin blade. The fin blade is split down the middle, so it forms a left blade half and a right blade half that are symmetric with respect to each other. This special blade shape, when kick under water, creates propulsion by generating a pressure differential above and below the blade, in addition to the repulsive force created by kicking such that the swim fin can have better propulsion efficiency. However, the overall structural integrity of the forgoing swim fin is not strong enough to endure a long-hour and frequent usage that it is easy to deform.
In view of the above description, if a conventional swim fin has a good structural integrity, it will suffer a poor propulsion efficiency. On the other hand, if a conventional swim fin can create a pressure differential in the water flow to achieve satisfactory performance, it will suffer a poor structural integrity. In this regard, an improved swim fin is required.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,607,857 discloses a prior art swim fin that uses ribs to support a webbing to form a fin structure. The ribs are pivotally connected to a swivel plate and can pivot together with the webbing so as to provide the function of swim fin. However, since the webbing is merely supported by the ribs only, therefore, if the ribs of U.S. Pat. No. 1,607,857 are removed, then the webbing will lose its support and cannot provide the function of swim fin anymore.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,470 discloses a prior art swim fin 9 that comprises two rectangular flaps 91 formed on the web 92 thereof as shown in
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved swim fin having at least a pair of triangular shaped movable members disposed on the fin blade thereof. Such that, when kicked under water, the movable members are capable of wiggling independently and respectively so as to generate more lift by enhancing more water to be project from the trailing edge of the fin blade thereof. Moreover, the movable members are capable of reducing the drag and turbulence exerting on the same by the water flow which will reduce the diver's fatigue and subsequently extend the swimming time and range.
The second object of the invention is to provide an improved swim fin with a preferred structural integrity achieved by incorporating the moving members on the surface of the fin blade along with providing a plurality of ribs on the same surface. Such that, the swim fin of the present invention can sustain a long-hour and frequent usage without deformation during usage.
To achieve the abovementioned objectives, the present invention provides an improved swim fin, comprising:
a foot-packet formation, defining a foot-receiving cavity; and
a fin blade, attached and extending longitudinally beyond the foot-packet formation to a trailing edge thereof for a substantial length, and with an imaginary center line splitting down the middle thereof to separate the same into two symmetric portions.
Wherein, the fin blade further comprises at least a first movable member and at least a second movable member. Both of the moveable members are triangular shaped. The first movable member is disposed on one of the two portions of the fin blade and is connected to the fin blade by a first connecting edge as axle within a predefined angle The second movable member is disposed on another portion of the fin blade and is connected to the fin blade by a second connecting edge such that the second movable member can pivot using the second connection edge as axle within a predefined angle.
The details of the present invention will be more readily understood from a detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the following figures.
The improved swim fin of the present invention has at least a pair of movable members disposed on the fin blade thereof that, when kicked under water, are capable of wiggling independently and respectively so as to generate more lift by enhancing more water to be projected from the trailing edge of the fin blade. In the same time, these movable members are capable of reducing the drag and turbulence exerting on the same by the water flow. In addition, the swim fin of the present invention further has a plurality of ribs for enabling the same to have a better structural integrity.
Please refer to
The standard flat fin usually suffers insufficient structural strength and integrity that can be deformed during usage. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fin blade 12 further comprises two openings 19 and two removable side ribs 17. Each of the two openings 19 is formed on an outer edge 191 of the fin blade 12 for inserting one side rib 17 in a removable manner. The outer edge 191 is structured as a rib with a hollow center and is thicker than other parts of the fin blade 12 for providing structural strength of the swim fin 1. When there is a need to increase the structural strength and integrity, the side ribs 17 are inserted into outer edges 191 through the openings 19. And, when there is no need to increase the structural strength and integrity, for example, the swimmer prefer to use a more flexible swim fin, then these side ribs 17 can be removed from the openings 19, and the fin blade 12 is still functional for swim fin operation without the side ribs 17.
Moreover, a center rib 18 extruding out of the fin blade 12 is disposed along the imaginary center line 13 that has a width of 2w, where w is measured from the center line 13 to an edge of the center rib 18.
Please refer to
The second movable member 16 is incorporated at another portion of the fin blade 12 opposite to the first movable member 15. The second movable member 16 also has a second longitudinal edge 162 and a second leading edge 164. Wherein, an end of the second longitudinal edge 162 is connected to an end of the second leading edge 164, and the second longitudinal edge 162 is placed in a vicinity of the center line 13 and the second leading edge 164 is placed away from the trailing edge 14 of the fin blade 12 by a predefined second distance d. In addition, since the second movable member 16 is formed integrally with, the fin blade 12, an imaginary connecting line referred as second connecting line 161 (as the dotted line of
Please refer to
Please refer to
The second movable member 16c is incorporated at another portion of the fin blade 12 opposite to the first moveable member 15c. The second movable member 16c also has a second longitudinal edge 162c, a second side edge 163c and a second leading edge 164c, together forming a U shape and the length of the second longitudinal edge 162c is larger than that of the second side edge 163c. The second longitudinal edge 162c is placed in the vicinity of the center line and the second leading edge 164c is placed away from the trailing edge 14 of the fin blade 12 by a predefined distance d. In addition, since the second movable member 16c is formed integrally with the fin blade 12, an imaginary connecting line referred as second connecting line 161c (as the dotted line of
Please refer to
The improved swim fin of the present invention having at least a pair of movable members and a plurality of ribs is capable of reducing the drag and turbulence exerting on the fin blade thereof, and the same time enhancing the structural integrity of the same. In this regard, the conventional shortcomings are overcome and the industry competitiveness is increased.
Please refer to
The fin blade 12e further comprises at least a first movable member 15e and at least a second movable member 16e. The first movable member 15e is disposed on one of the two portions of the fin blade 12e. The first movable member 15e is triangular shaped and is defined by a first longitudinal edge 152e, a first leading edge 154e and a first connecting edge 151e. The first longitudinal edge 152e is located in a vicinity of the center line 13e and extends parallel to the center line 13e. The first leading edge 154e is located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge 14e by a first distance d. The first longitudinal edge 152e and the first leading edge 154e both are through slots and are connected to each other at one end thereof. The first connecting edge 151e is an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the first longitudinal edge 152e and the other end connected to the first leading edge 154e so as to form the triangular shaped first movable member 15e.
The second movable member 16e is disposed on another portion of the fin blade 12e. The second movable member 16e is triangular shaped and is defined by a second longitudinal edge 162e, a second leading edge 164e and a second connecting edge 161e. The second longitudinal edge 162e is located in a vicinity of the center line 13e and is extending parallel to the center line 13e. The second leading edge 164e is located near to but spaced apart from the trailing edge 14e by a second distance d′ which is the same as the first distance d in this embodiment. The second longitudinal edge 162e and the second leading edge 164e both are through slots and are connected to each other at one end thereof. The second connecting edge 161e is an imaginary connecting line with one end connected to the second longitudinal edge 162e and the other end connected to the second leading edge 164e so as to form the triangular shaped second movable member 16e. In this embodiment, the second movable member 16e is substantially symmetric with the first movable member 15e.
As shown in
Each portion of the fin blade 12e is further formed with at least one guiding groove 124. The groove 124 is located on an upper surface of the fin blade 12e and is extending between the leading edge 154e and the trailing edge 14e for guiding water flows. In addition, the fin blade 12e has two longitudinal outer edges 125 extending between the foot-packet formation 11e and the trailing edge 14e. Each outer edge 125 has a thickness greater than that of the fin blade 12e for providing structural strength. Each outer edge 125 is further formed with a rudder 126 at one end adjoining the trailing edge 14e for guiding water flows.
Please refer to
In comparison with the prior art swim fin 9 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,470 as shown in
While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
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